Thursday, June 15, 2017

Deserted Islands - A Story Map

It is illegal to hunt or kill the rabbits on Okunoshima island in Japan. Not that many people want to kill them. In fact tourists from around the world flock to Okunoshima or 'Rabbit Island' primarily to visit the thousands of wild rabbits that inhabit the island.

However the rabbits of Okunoshima island weren't always so revered. In fact the island was once the location of Japan's secret poison gas factory. Guess which animals were used to test the effectiveness of that poison gas. That's right - the rabbits. However there is a happy ending to this story. After World War II the poison gas factory and the island were abandoned and the rabbits were set free.

Okunoshima island is just one of many deserted islands around the world which feature in a new Esri story map, Abandoned Islands. The story map explains why a number of islands around the world have been abandoned to nature. The map features locations such as Venice's quarantine island, Greece's leper colony island and Brazil's island of poisonous snakes.